Shuman and Williams work for long-awaited starting opportunities at Virginia Tech

Shuman on how having five years in the program has helped him make better reads and gain consistency

Shuman on how having five years in the program has helped him make better reads and gain consistency

Norm Wood, nwood@dailypress.com

BLACKSBURG — Just four years ago, there wasn't much doubt Virginia Tech offensive lineman Mark Shuman and linebacker Chase Williams were destined to be starters as soon as they got comfortable in Blacksburg. Both guys were supposed to be special.

Now, as fifth-year seniors, it doesn't take long to recap their combined number of career starts. One.

In 2012, Williams got that one start, and it wasn't even against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. It came against Football Championship Subdivision foe Appalachian State.

Shuman and Williams are finally on the brink of getting their long-awaited starting chances. After one week of preseason practices, Shuman is atop the depth chart at right tackle and competing with sophomore Jonathan McLaughlin, while Williams has a stranglehold on the starting role at middle linebacker.

Shuman and Williams have both had to major in patience.

"When you come to college, you get humbled," said Shuman, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound Fork Union native who was considered by some recruiting analysts one of the nation's top 35 offensive tackle prospects in the class of 2010.

"Just because you're a highly recruited guy doesn't mean you're going to be playing a lot in college. You've got to earn it. I don't have to start. As long as I'm playing a lot, I'm fine with that, but I want to show I can play at a consistent level."

Shuman came to Tech as a left tackle, but he was moved to left guard and back to left tackle before settling in at right tackle this preseason. He watched as McLaughlin started last season as a freshman at left tackle, and Nick Becton and Andrew Lanier earned starting jobs in previous seasons.

Williams, a 6-2, 215-pound native of Leesburg, whom most recruiting analysts ranked as one of the top 25 inside linebackers in the '10 class, has also had to wait his turn. Since enrolling at Tech in January 2010, he's played both middle linebacker and the "backer" inside linebacker spot, but he had to be satisfied with primarily special teams duties while Lyndell Gibson, Tariq Edwards, Bruce Taylor and Jack Tyler played linebacker ahead of him.

"Early in my career, I had some injuries that kept me off the field, and that opened the door for other guys," said Williams, who is ahead of redshirt freshman Andrew Motuapuaka this preseason at middle linebacker. "They were playing really well. You can never be upset about not playing when the guy in front of you is having an All-ACC season. I really just had to be patient and take that backup role seriously and get ready for whenever it was my chance."

Last season, Williams had his biggest moment in a Tech uniform via his special teams play. With 6:26 left in the fourth quarter against North Carolina, he recovered a muffed punt by UNC's Ryan Switzer inside UNC's red zone. Williams' recovery led to a touchdown that put Tech up 27-10 in an eventual 27-17 win.

Williams, whose father, Gregg, is the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams, has played just 141 snaps on defense in his career. Like Williams, Tech left tackle Laurence Gibson enrolled in January 2010 and had to wait a while before getting some significant starting experience last season (six starts at right tackle).

"We've both been in the same situation," said Gibson, who is close friends with Williams. "I know what he's going through. He's definitely ready. He wants it really bad."

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster has noticed a change in Williams now that he's healthy and entrenched at a position.

"He's hungry," Foster said. "He's been hungry. We've probably had him out of position a little bit because he was playing 'backer.' He was really kind of playing both (backer and middle linebacker), which is a credit to him and his football IQ."

In addition to all the depth chart movement ahead of Shuman, he's endured two knee surgeries, including one last August to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee that caused him to miss the first five games of the season. He's also played for three different offensive line coaches — Curt Newsome, Jeff Grimes and now Stacy Searels.

Shuman has played a grand total of just 61 offensive plays in his career. His inexperience reminds Searels of another player he coached.

In '06, when Searels was the offensive line coach at Louisiana State, Vancouver native Peter Dyakowski was entering the season as a fifth-year senior with about 70 offensive snaps under his belt in his career. Dyakowski went on to start all 13 games as a senior, playing about 77 snaps in his first game as a starter. He's spent the past nine seasons playing in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"If a kid continues to work and really tries to get better, they'll eventually play if they don't give up," Searels said. "I've had guys that didn't play until their fifth year. When they were freshmen and sophomores I thought, 'This guy isn't ever going to play,' but they kept working until they were successful. I've seen it happen."

Though he admits briefly pondering transferring, Shuman couldn't bring himself to leave Tech. His brother, Ryan, was a starting center at Tech. Now, Mark has a shot to follow in his brother's footsteps as a starter.

"I love this place," Mark said. "My brother went here, my older sister started us off here. I've been coming to Virginia Tech since elementary school to watch games and stuff, so I wouldn't want to be anywhere else other than Virginia Tech."